Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Bot Boi (Pot Pie)

When we were kids we lived in Lancaster Pennsylvania for awhile. My dad loved that area and he loved the Pennsylvania Dutch and how they lived. Most of all he loved their foods! Making "Chicken Pot Pie" this past week made me remember a dish dad got from the ladies in Lancaster. Mom would make this all the time for him and it was so incredibly yummy. Bot Boi are actually the noodles used in the dish. There is no crust in this recipe, it is a chicken stew basically that is absolutely amazing. If you cannot find the correct noodles (kluski) in your grocery store I have a recipe to make them homemade.

  8 cups water
  One 3-1/2 to 4 pound stewing chicken
  1 coursely chopped rib of celery
  1 quartered, large onion
  1 coursely chopped, large carrot
  Salt and pepper
  2 medium onions, thinly sliced
  2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
  2 large carrots, cut into 1/4-in slices
  Potpie squares (or kluski noodles)
  small handful of chopped fresh parsley
  3 tablespoons flour
  3 tablespoons cold water
  two or three pinches of saffron


Cook chicken in water with celery, carrot, 1 onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Simmer it with the lid on until done, for about an hour.This is the stews broth. Take the chicken out to cool.

Skim the fat off of the broth. Strain the broth and discard the celery, carrot, onion, and bay leaf. Taste broth for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper if needed. I also add garlic powder but thats a matter of taste. Add the saffron grains.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, take all the meat from the bones and cut it into bite sized pieces. Discard skin and bones.
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a big pot. Add  chicken. When the broth is boiling, layer the potpie squares into the broth, one by one. Alternate with layers of potato and onion and carrots. Push down each layer gently, so the liquid will cover it.

Turn down the heat so it will simmer. Cover the pot. Stir gently every so often, so the noodle squares will not stick together, for about 20 minutes.

Add parsley and saffron. Stir gently. The saffron will give the broth a gorgeous yellow color and an intensely unique and subtle flavor. Simmer for five more minutes. Make paste from flour and water. Add this to broth to thicken. Cook and stir gently another five minutes until a bit thicker.

Spoon into bowls and serve hot.